From the Desk of Paul R. Rao PhD, President of the Little Italy Scholarship Foundation

Mille Grazie:   It gives me the most sincere Italian American and Little Italy pride and thanksgiving to announce that your Lodge Scholarship Foundation recently received a check for $20,000 from the Carl T. Julio Family Trust to finalize his pledge to us for a Naming Scholarship in his honor. The inaugural Carl T. Julio scholarship in the amount of $6,000 will be awarded in June of 2022.  No one donor since Mr. Guy has made such a momentous donation to our Foundation.

Hold The Date:  Mark your calendar for Sunday April 24th of 2022 from 12:30-4:30pm in the St Leo’s Church Hall.  

Our Scholarship Foundation will be resuming our gala Taste of Italy on Sunday April 23 of 2023.  To lock in the April 24, 2022 date for our fun fundraiser, we will be proudly hosting Famiglia Italian wine and specialty foods celebrating Little Italy’s roots and Famiglia connections and at least 4 Regions of Italy! We will also celebrate the unveiling of the St Leo’s 140th Campaign Banner at this event.  A shout out that St Leo’s concluded its 140th Anniversary campaign in 2021 with a fantastico total of $307,000.  Once again, the Carl T. Julio Family stepped up to match the 140th campaign by donating $140,000 to permit the church to more than double its total campaign goal. May God bless Carl…Centannos.

The April 24 Little Italy Event will welcome nearly 200 guests and we expect a sell out. Tickets will go on sale March 1st…$55 for admission. We will also be soliciting  8 sponsors of a Table of Ten with appropriate recognition to both our Foundation  and St Leo’s.  Stay tuned and hold this date on your calendar.

Be well and May the Lord support our educational mission.

Prr